58 植物研究雑誌　第 90巻　第 1号 2015年 2月

J. Jpn. Bot. 90: 58–60 (2015)

Okihito Yanoa,*, Teruo KatsuYamab, Hiroshi IKedac, Colin Alistair PendrYd and Keshab Raj rajbhandarIe: A New Record of Eleocharis uniglumis (Link) Schult. (Cyperaceae) from Nepal

aFaculty of Biosphere-Geosphere Science, Okayama University of Science, 1-1, Ridai-cho, Okayama, 700-0005 JAPAN;bKanagawa Prefectural Museum of Natural History, 499, Iryuda, Odawara, Kanagawa, 250-0031 JAPAN;cThe University Museum, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033 JAPAN;dRoyal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20a Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, Scotland, UK;eG.P.O. Box 9446, Kathmandu, NEPAL*Corresponding author: oki.yano@gmail.com

Summary: Eleocharis uniglumis (Link) Schult. (Cyperaceae) is recorded from the Api Himal area, Far Western Nepal. This is the first record for the species from Nepal.

Eleocharis R. Br. (Cyperaceae) has a circum-boreal distribution and consists of about 200 species which are found in marshes and wetlands (González-Elizondo and Peterson 1997, Smith et al. 2002). In Nepal, Koyama (1978) enumerated seven species of Eleocharis; E. acutangula (Roxb.) Schult., E. congesta D. Don, E. dulcis (Burm. f.) Trin. ex Hensch., E. palustris (L.) Roem. & Schult., E. quinqueflora (Hartmann)

O. Schwarz, E. retroflexa (Poir.) Urb. subsp. chaetaria (Roem. & Schult.) T. Koyama, and E. tetraquetra Nees.

During a 2012 Japan-UK-Nepal botanical expedition to Api Himal in Far Western Nepal Eleocharis uniglumis (Link) Schult. was found in a small marsh at about 3400 m altitude (Figs. 1, 2). This is the first record for the species from Nepal. Morphologically, E. uniglumis resembles E. palustris which is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, but the two species can be distinguished by the characters in the spikelets. In E. uniglumis only the lowermost glume is empty (i.e., without a floret), and it surrounds

Fig. 1. Eleocharis uniglumis in Far Western Nepal. A. Habitat. B. Spikelets.

February 2015 TheJournal of Japanese Botany Vol. 90 No. 1 59

Fig. 2. Voucher specimen of Eleocharis uniglumis from Far Western Nepal (Ikeda & al. 1215059, TI).

60 植物研究雑誌　第 90巻　第 1号 2015年 2月

completely or 3/4 of the spikelet base, while in E. palustris the 2 or 3 basal glumes are empty, and the lowermost glume surrounds about 2/3 of the spikelet base (Kukkonen 1998, Smith et al. 2002, Dai and Strong 2010). Although flowers of the specimen collected in Nepal are immature, only the basalmost glume is empty, and it surrounds more than 3/4 of the spiketelet base, so the identification is unambiguous.

Eleocharis uniglumis is widely distributed in Europe, Asia (Turkey, Iraq, Persia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan), Russia, N America, and NW Africa (Kukkonen 1998, Smith et al. 2002, Dai and Strong 2010). The distributions of many plants of the western Himalayas extend to central Asia and the Mediterranean region (Ohba 2006) and Eleocharis uniglumis is considered to be another element of the Central Asian Floristic Region which reaches Far Western Nepal.

Eleocharis uniglumis (Link) Schult. in Schult. & Schult., Mant. 2: 88 (1824).

Voucher specimen: Far Western Nepal. Mahakali Zone, Darchula District, Dhaulo Odar (29°56ʹ30.7ʺN; 80°56ʹ26.7ʺE), 3399 m alt. (H. Ikeda, S. Noshiro, K.Yonekura, K. Akai, O. Yano, N. Yamamoto, C. A. Pendry, A. Elliot, M. Pathak & G. D. Bhatta no. 1215059, 18 July 2012, E, KATH, OKAY, TI, TUCH).

The authors thank Dr. Annapurna Das and Dr. Sushim R. Baral, Department of Plant Resources, Nepal, for their help in conducting field research in Nepal. We thank the members of the field trip in Far West Nepal in 2012 for their help for collecting plant materials. This study was partly supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 23255005 (to H. I.).

ReferencesDai L. K. and Strong M. T. 2010. Eleocharis. In: Wu Z.

Y., Raven P. H. and Hong D. Y. (eds.), Flora of China 23: 188–200. Science Press, Beijing and Missourie Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.

González-Elizondo M. S. and Peterson P. M. 1997. A classification of and key to the supraspecific taxa in Eleocharis. Taxon 46: 433–449.

Koyama T. 1978. Cyperaceae. In: Hara H., Stearn W. T. and Williams L. H. J. (eds.), An Enumeration of the Flowering Plants of Nepal 1: 96–120. British Museum (Natural History), London.

Kukkonen I. 1998. Cyperaceae. In: Rechinger K. H. (ed.), Flora Iranica 173: 1–307. Akademische Druck-u. Verlagsanstalt, Graz.

Ohba H. 2006. Selected works of Hideaki Ohba 2. Taxonomy, geobotany and ecology. Yasaka Shobo, Tokyo (in Japanese).

Smith S. G., Bruhl J. J., González-Elizondo M. S. and Menapace F. J. 2002. Eleocharis. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.), Flora of North America North of Mexico 23: 60–120. Oxford University Press, New York.

矢野興一 a，勝山輝男 b，池田　博 c，C. A. Pendryd，K. R. Rajbhandarie： ネ パ ー ル 新 産 の Eleocharis uniglumis (Link) Schult. （カヤツリグサ科）　ヨーロッパ，西アジア，中央アジア，ロシア，北米，北アフリカに分布する Eleocharis uniglumis (Link) Schult.（カヤツリグサ科）をネパールの極西部から初めて採集した．E. uniglumisは北半球に広く分布する E. palustris (L.) Roem. & Schult.に似るが，E. uniglumisが小穂の最下鱗片のみが小花を伴なわず，最下鱗片は小穂の基部ほぼ全てを覆っているのに対し，E. palustris は小穂の基部の鱗片 2，3枚が小花を持たず，最下鱗片は小穂の基部約 2/3 を覆うことで区別される．ネパール

の極西部に生育する植物は，中央アジア要素の植物と関係があるとされており，本種も中央アジア植物区系要素と関連しているのではないかと考えられる．

（a岡山理科大学生物地球学部，b神奈川県立生命の星・地球博物館，

c東京大学総合研究博物館，dイギリス・エディンバラ王立植物園，

eネパール・カトマンズ私書箱 9446号）